Self-reported compliance with diabetes self-management during pregnancy

The current study examined regimen compliance in pregnant women with pre-existing (overt) diabetes across multiple self-care tasks at three times during the pregnancy: mid-second, early third, and late third trimesters.

Forty-nine pregnant women with Type I (68%) or Type II (32%) diabetes completed measures to assess compliance with the diabetic regimen, major and minor life stressors, and social support for the diabetic regimen.

Pregnant women with overt diabetes generally reported being compliant with their self-care regimen. There were, however, notable differences in reported compliance levels across different regimen tasks. Specifically, 74 to 79 percent of women reported being always compliant with dietary recommendations compared to 86 to 88 percent for insulin administration, 85 to 89 percent in managing insulin reactions, and 94 to 96 percent for glucose testing. Furthermore, stress in the form of major and minor life events and regimen-related social support were significantly related to self-reported compliance with dietary recommendations. There was no relationship between compliance and blood glucose levels.

These findings suggest that psychiatric consultants focus on ways to increase social support as one means of improving compliance in pregnant women with diabetes.